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Ich hab mal wieder beim King of Pop Discussion-Forum gestöbert und den folgenden Artikel gefunden.
Viel Spaß beim Lesen
LG Sabine
Mesereau speaks to S.C. lawyers
Jackson attorney criticizes media hype around trials
BY TIM DONNELLY, The Island Packet
Published Sunday, August 7th, 2005
If the recent Michael Jackson court case was a media firestorm, then attorney Tom Mesereau was a silvery-haired, fire-retardant umbrella in the middle of it all.
Mesereau, addressing the South Carolina Trial Law-yers Association annual convention on Hilton Head Island on Saturday, spoke harshly of the intense media coverage that dominated the five-month trial for the pop superstar. He also told how he was able to prove many of the cable-news analysts wrong by winning an acquittal on all charges, which included conspiracy, child molestation and giving alcohol to a minor.
"The media interest in this case was unbelievably intense and unrelenting," Mesereau told the crowd of hundreds gathered at the Westin Resort. "The onslaught of media intensity in this area of trials ... has really hurt our profession."
His speech Saturday, the keynote address of the annual conference, spared no unkind words for the likes of TV personalities such as Nancy Grace, Geraldo Rivera and others who frequently revel in the intricacies of high-profile court cases -- often at the expense of public understanding, he said.
"Trials are won in the courtroom. They're not won in the media," he said. "The jury has to operate with courage and integrity and the media does not."
Even before the Jackson molestation case came along, Mesereau was no stranger to high-profile cases. He defended actor Robert Blake during his murder trial, eventually getting an acquittal. While serving as counsel to Mike Tyson, he helped the boxer avoid rape and sexual-assault charges.
He continued to defend Jackson on Saturday, portraying the quirky pop star as victimized by prosecutors and targeted by Court TV for drama and ratings purposes.
Mesereau classified the media coverage of the Jackson trial as "horrific reporting," but there certainly was no shortage of exposure for the trial, even though the courtroom was closed to cameras. The E! television network went as far as to have actors reenact each day's proceedings for nightly broadcasts. The scene outside the Santa Maria, Calif., courtroom was a sea of Jackson supporters and media outlets from around the world.
Mesereau told the crowd how important it was to block out the media hype and focus only on what's going on in the courtroom. The 12 jurors in the case weren't sequestered but were told not to pay attention to any media coverage, and Mesereau said he believes they honored the order.
"We lost the battle of spin," he said, "but we won the battle in the courtroom."
The convention was his first trip to Hilton Head and South Carolina, he said. A member of the association who introduced him said Mesereau took a walk from the Westin Resort down the island to Shelter Cove to get to learn the area.
That was the same approach Mesereau took to learning the Santa Maria community where the juror pool was pulled from, often dining alone at restaurants in the evening or stopping by bars in the afternoon.
"I never thought for a second these 12 jurors would believe these people," he said of the prosecution.
The way Mesereau spoke of the Jackson case, there were two completely separate cases taking place concurrently: the one being bantered about and debated with pundits, legal experts and anchors on television and the one in that mattered -- the one in the courtroom.
Too many lawyers get poisoned by the allure of high-profile cases, which diverts their attention from their client, he said.
"The cases are seductive, they're like a drug," he said. "It can be very dangerous to the integrity of the system."
Contact Tim Donnelly at 706-8145 or tdonnelly@islandpacket.com. To comment on this story, please go to islandpacket.com.
Ich hab mal wieder beim King of Pop Discussion-Forum gestöbert und den folgenden Artikel gefunden.
Viel Spaß beim Lesen
LG Sabine
Mesereau speaks to S.C. lawyers
Jackson attorney criticizes media hype around trials
BY TIM DONNELLY, The Island Packet
Published Sunday, August 7th, 2005
If the recent Michael Jackson court case was a media firestorm, then attorney Tom Mesereau was a silvery-haired, fire-retardant umbrella in the middle of it all.
Mesereau, addressing the South Carolina Trial Law-yers Association annual convention on Hilton Head Island on Saturday, spoke harshly of the intense media coverage that dominated the five-month trial for the pop superstar. He also told how he was able to prove many of the cable-news analysts wrong by winning an acquittal on all charges, which included conspiracy, child molestation and giving alcohol to a minor.
"The media interest in this case was unbelievably intense and unrelenting," Mesereau told the crowd of hundreds gathered at the Westin Resort. "The onslaught of media intensity in this area of trials ... has really hurt our profession."
His speech Saturday, the keynote address of the annual conference, spared no unkind words for the likes of TV personalities such as Nancy Grace, Geraldo Rivera and others who frequently revel in the intricacies of high-profile court cases -- often at the expense of public understanding, he said.
"Trials are won in the courtroom. They're not won in the media," he said. "The jury has to operate with courage and integrity and the media does not."
Even before the Jackson molestation case came along, Mesereau was no stranger to high-profile cases. He defended actor Robert Blake during his murder trial, eventually getting an acquittal. While serving as counsel to Mike Tyson, he helped the boxer avoid rape and sexual-assault charges.
He continued to defend Jackson on Saturday, portraying the quirky pop star as victimized by prosecutors and targeted by Court TV for drama and ratings purposes.
Mesereau classified the media coverage of the Jackson trial as "horrific reporting," but there certainly was no shortage of exposure for the trial, even though the courtroom was closed to cameras. The E! television network went as far as to have actors reenact each day's proceedings for nightly broadcasts. The scene outside the Santa Maria, Calif., courtroom was a sea of Jackson supporters and media outlets from around the world.
Mesereau told the crowd how important it was to block out the media hype and focus only on what's going on in the courtroom. The 12 jurors in the case weren't sequestered but were told not to pay attention to any media coverage, and Mesereau said he believes they honored the order.
"We lost the battle of spin," he said, "but we won the battle in the courtroom."
The convention was his first trip to Hilton Head and South Carolina, he said. A member of the association who introduced him said Mesereau took a walk from the Westin Resort down the island to Shelter Cove to get to learn the area.
That was the same approach Mesereau took to learning the Santa Maria community where the juror pool was pulled from, often dining alone at restaurants in the evening or stopping by bars in the afternoon.
"I never thought for a second these 12 jurors would believe these people," he said of the prosecution.
The way Mesereau spoke of the Jackson case, there were two completely separate cases taking place concurrently: the one being bantered about and debated with pundits, legal experts and anchors on television and the one in that mattered -- the one in the courtroom.
Too many lawyers get poisoned by the allure of high-profile cases, which diverts their attention from their client, he said.
"The cases are seductive, they're like a drug," he said. "It can be very dangerous to the integrity of the system."
Contact Tim Donnelly at 706-8145 or tdonnelly@islandpacket.com. To comment on this story, please go to islandpacket.com.
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